In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, apples, parsley and sage. Saute until softened. Remove from the heat and gently stir in the bread, egg, butter and salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth gradually until everything is moistened. Let the stuffing mixture cool completely before putting it in the pork loin. Spoon the stuffing down the pork, horizontally, in a line. Roll the pork over the stuffing, jelly roll style, ending with the seam down and fat side up. Tightly tie the pork loin up with butcher's twine, season it with more salt, pepper and herbs and transfer to a roasting pan. Roast the pork in a preheated oven for about 90 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160 degrees F. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes before slicing. Garnish with apples and fresh herbs.

Combine the black-eyed peas, crumbled bacon, 3 tablespoons of the reserved bacon fat and all remaining ingredients in a large bowl and toss well to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours, or preferably overnight.

Allow salad to come to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. Toss well just before serving.

Whether you are cooking for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's Day, Chef Matthew Reid, of the Victoria Country Club, shared some of his favorite recipes and tips for cooking during the holidays.

Growing up in Louisiana, he said, the star dish of the meal for holiday get-togethers was often a pork loin roast.

Reid, who is in charge of planning menus and wine dinners at the country club, said professionals in the restaurant industry use a simple formula. The usual formula is 5 to 7 ounces for meat/protein, 2.5 to 3.5 ounces for starches, including rice and potatoes, and about 2 ounces for vegetables.

Take those numbers, he said, and multiply them by the number of people and then divide that by 16, which will give you the number of ounces needed per person.

"It's always better to have too much than to have not enough," he said. "There's no worse sin than not having enough."

He added that anything left over can always go into a soup or another meal later in the week.

When he was younger, around the New Year holiday, his mother would prepare a dish to celebrate the coming year.

"Something my family still does is the black-eyed peas and cabbage. The black-eyed peas are supposed to represent good luck and the cabbage for money," he said.

Reid offered his recipe for pork loin roast and recipe for black-eyed pea salad that he said can be substituted with fresh edamame for a fresher, healthier rendition.

"Have fun with it, and enjoy it," he said. "Get some help if you have to, tag-team it in the kitchen."